Hairpin



Oct. 21, 1952 F, G, HALL 2,614,570

HAIRPIN Flfl May 10, 1952.

Tij] 9 v 7,4 2 (Y .mw i 1/ l 1f (7 f5 g /f/ 70 Patented Oct. 21, 1952umso STATES lax-'r,ENTr .OFFICE Frankfordon Hall, Chicago, Ill.Application May 10,1952, serial No. 287,186 f i' 1.01am. f (ol.13a-50)'4 v This invention relates to improvements vin hair pins and hasfor one object to provide a type of hair pin especially'adaptf'dv forholding flat, circular curls commonly termed pin curls, as formed on awomans head. .11.1

A further object of my invention is to provide a hair pin especiallyadapted to be made of plastic material having suiiicient flexibility tobe readilyopened by thefingers, for application to the curl so thatonedoes not need to use'ithe teeth or finger nails .to open it as is donewith the well-known type of bobby pin. f

Another object of. my'invention is to lprovide a hair pin of thecharacter described above employing an external rib fyorspacing theformed curl from the scalp to promote ventilation for drying of the curland also to aid in positioning the pin on the head of the user.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will appear from time totime as the following description proceeds.

The hair pin of the present invention constitutes an improvement overthe type of hair pin disclosed and claimed in my application, SerialNumber 268,359, flled January 26, 1952, now Patent No. 2,599,447.

My invention is illustratedmore or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawing,

A wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a hair pin constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1; l

Figure 3 is a detailed section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view drawn to a smaller scale than the precedingfigures and illustrating the manner in which my hair pin is applied to acircular or pin curl;

Figure 5 is a section taken generally on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged end view of the hair pin, showing the mannerinwhich the central rib aids in positioning the pin when gripped betweenthe finger and thumb of the user.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specificationand drawing.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, I is the long leg of the hair pin. It isjoined by a continuous loop 2 to a shortleg 3. In the form shown herein,the short leg 3 is inwardly depressed as at 4, toward the leg I, thuscentrally reducing the width of the pocket formed between the loner andshort legs. The outer or free end of the short leg terminates in adownwardly inclined portion 5, the end of which engages the long legintermediate its ends. The arrangement is such that the long end extendsconsiderably beyond the-endo! the short leg so-as tmpermit-the'yngerof-'the user to exert pressure atwise relativeto'- thel long legwithout contacting the enclofk the short leg. f

vThelong leg I is' tipped atl itsextr'emeiend with an, enlarged vtip to`prevent scratching ,or cutting of a womans scalp. The end of theshortleg 3 terminates in a slightly upturned portion to aid in applying thepin to the curl.

With .thelegs shaped as shown and described, the downwardly inclinedportion 5 of theo-short leg deflnesa closed loop or pocket forthelhirandv the intermediate inwardly. depressedjfporftion IIV divides.thepocket Ithusformed into two' arcuately shaped areas indicated at Aand 'B which are of substantially equal area.

As seen in Figure l, both the long and the short legs are wider at theirlooped ends v2 and taper gradually toward their free ends.

The features hereinabove set forth are broadly shown and described in myaforementioned Patent No. 2,599,447.

Referring now more particularly to the novel features of the presentinvention, the pin is preferably made of a single piece of moldedplastic. The legs I and 3, together with the spring loop 2,

are formed with continuous, widened, substantially flat, inner bodyportions 9, I0 and I I which generally define the shape of the two areasA and B. A centrally disposed, outwardly extending rib I2 is formedintegrally with the flattened l portion 9 of leg I and continues asan'arcuate rib I3 about the loop I0, and thence as a continuing rib I4along the upper surface of the flattened body portion Il of the shortleg 3.V As will be' seen in Figure 2, the bottom rib I2 is tapered inheight toward the extreme end of the long leg I and the top rib I4 istapered in height toward the extreme end of the short leg 3.

The rib portions l2, is and I4 vjusteoscriioed v serve to strengthen thepin against breakage and, in particular, to increase they tension on thespring loop effective to hold the two legs together when the device isin operation. This feature is of particular advantage where the pin ismade of plastic material as it increases the strength of the pin withoutan undue increase in'weight or thickness of the body of the pin,particularly in the area of the spring loop 2.

A further advantage of the ribbed vconstruction is the arrangementwhereby the lower rib I2 on the longer leg 4I serves to space the bodyof the pin, together with the curl, a substantial distance away from thescalp of the user, as

shown in Figure 5, when the pin is in use. rwith 3 the coils of a curlsecured within the looped areas A and B. This permits a freercirculation of air between the scalp of the user and the curl to aid indrying the hair in its curled condition.

A still further advantage of the novel ribbed construction is the factthat the rib serves as a guide when holding the pin between the ngers soas to indicate to the user when the pin is in proper position 'as it isbeing applied to thel curl. This feature is particularly helpful in adevice of this kind where so many of the curls are put up on the head byfeel out of sight of the user. Even when a mirror can be used, it willbe found more convenient to rely upon feel rather than sight for theproper applicationv of the pin to the curl. Figure 6 shows the manner inwhich `the rib serves as a guide when gripped between the finger andthumb of the user.

Although I `have shown and'described certain embodiments of myinvention, it will be understood that I' do not wish to be limited tothe exact construction shownand described, but that various changes andmodifications may be made' without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as dened in the appended claim.

I claim: l

In a hair pin comprising long and short legs: joinedat one end by acontinuous spring loop, theshort leg beig spaced from the long leg forthe major portion of its length, and having a Aterminal portion inwardlyinclined toward the long leg, an intermediate portion of said 4 terminalportion being normally held against the long leg by the tension of thespring loop to maintain said major portion of the short leg in spacedrelation with the long leg, the extreme end of said terminal portion ofthe short leg being bent outwardly away from the plane of the long leg,the long leg extending beyond the end of the short leg a distance topermit| iiatwise pressure of thefnger of the user upon said long legwithout' contact with. the short leg, the combination of a, continuousrib formed integrally with and extending centrally along `the outerfaces of said long leg, loop and short leg, the said legs, loop and ribbeing of sufficient flexibility to permit the legs to be `readily spreadapart by the :lingers of the user, said rib beingfrof maximum heightadjacent the loop and tapering in height towards theA free ends of thelong and short legs, said hairpin beingmade of molded plastic material.

FRANK GORDON HALL.

ltnirnleirNoEsv CITED The following references are'of record in the leof this patent:

UNITED STATES A'ATENTS Number Name y Date D. 133,785 Reynolds Sept. 15,1942 1,274,344 Staub July 30', 1918 1,477,256 Fritz Dec. 11, 19232,310,156 Van Der Clute Feb. 2, 1943 2,378,747 BermanV et al. June 19,1945 2,411,825 Ferguson Nov. 26, 1946 2,599,447 Hall June '3 1952

